This just in.  Gallo is announcing a new male-oriented red wine for the U.K. market.  It is targeted toward 35 – 65 year old men.  The marketing pitch uses an outdoor emphasis and the brand will tie into hiking, fishing and camping type pursuits in some way.

Let’s take a … Read on >

The de-genderfication of the sports industry has been fun to watch over the past twenty years or so.  For example, NASCAR has gone from assuming women weren’t even in their picture to cozying (way) up to the many merchandise dollars those fans spend on t-shirts and the incredible community … Read on >

Marketing can be rough in a time when gender assumptions are going out the window.  We used to be able (we thought) to comfortably deduce what were “women’s” products and what were “men’s.”  The gender question had been easy to … Read on >

The first time I was offered a glass of wine in a hair salon it felt very out of context (especially since it was twenty years ago) but, it definitely made the experience that day memorable.  I appreciated that the wine brought a bit of celebration to my otherwise bi-monthly … Read on >

Semantics is often pooh-poohed, as in: “that’s just semantics.”  But, as I research the gender shifts in workplace and marketing these days, I think we should be giving semantics their due.  Word choice actually DOES matter when formerly touchy topics are raised, especially if the point of raising them is … Read on >

With this “mad rush” to the women’s market to save brands from their recessionary woes (again  – what took them so long?), it is all the more interesting to observe businesses that seem to have an inherent competitive edge on that front. Even if they never officially thought about … Read on >

At this moment in time, you wouldn’t think an ad campaign for an American made, large-sized truck, would offer new ideas in reaching today’s consumers.  After all, the big three auto brands, in general, and anything larger than a Prius, specifically, seem likely to be on their last legs (wheels?).  … Read on >

If marketers continue to create campaigns based on thinking that “men always do this” or “women always do that,” they are going to fall into a gender trap. In this era of the much more diligent shopper, we just can’t … Read on >

When I am asked for examples of great marketing to women efforts, I generally list past campaigns by American Express, Home Depot, Apple and Kleenex.  At face value, those brands are all non-gendered – but track their tactics and messaging and you see a lot of women’s influence. Therein lies … Read on >

There are noticeable changes in male consumer behavior today and they are worth noting. Why?  Because, when you take a closer look, the differences between male and female buying habits are becoming much less striking.

A recent MediaPost article by David Goetzl discusses how such changes have lead ESPN to … Read on >